St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii has finished initial apartments in a 149-unit rental complex for low-income seniors at Ewa Villages, after a long struggle to develop the $40 million project.

Tenants are expected to begin moving into the first building, with 24 units, next month.

Construction of five other buildings, each with 25 units, is slated to be done by May at a rate of roughly one building per month.

The completion of Franciscan Vistas Ewa will fulfill a nearly decade-old plan by the nonprofit organization to provide affordable housing and services for Hawaii’s ballooning population of seniors.

Though not an assisted-living community with medical services, Franciscan Vistas is touted by the developer as the first affordable-housing community for seniors in Hawaii integrated with health and wellness programs such as fitness and educational activities.

"Franciscan Vistas Ewa is a model community of the Sisters of St. Francis where affordable housing meets wellness," said Pamela Witty-Oakland, chief administrator of St. Francis Healthcare’s development affiliate. "We’re enhancing the health of older adults where they will be able to enjoy the health and wellness amenities of condo living."

St. Francis Healthcare announced conceptual plans in 2002 for an affordable senior rental project at Ewa Villages, but delays arose over land acquisition, design and financing.

The original plan was to build 300 senior rentals on 23 acres acquired from the city. Construction was expected to begin in mid-2003.

But there were some difficulties completing the purchase, which was achieved in 2003 with help from a federal grant and the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Later, design plans changed, in part because of soaring construction costs during the residential real estate boom. The developer said it needed to convert half the project to homes for sale at market prices to subsidize the senior rentals. Construction was expected to begin in 2007, but financing difficulties dragged out the timetable.

Construction of the rental apartments eventually began in January after financing was obtained from private lenders, investors, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state agency Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp.

The second phase, comprising 71 clustered single-family homes and 72 townhomes for sale, still needs financing. There is no estimate for when this part of the project will begin.

In the first phase, rental units are reserved for tenants 62 and older with household incomes no more than 60 percent of Honolulu’s median annual income, or $41,760 for a single person or $47,700 for a family of two.

Monthly rent is $745 for 530-square-foot units with one bedroom, and $885 for 750-square-foot units with two bedrooms.

Amenities include a community center and fitness and education programs.

St. Francis Healthcare said applications are available through property manager Prudential Locations for about 100 available units. There are already qualified tenants for the first two buildings.